The Gatehouse website record for Bampton Church

In the civil parish of Bampton. In the historic county of Oxfordshire (Modern Authority of Oxfordshire, 1974 county of Oxfordshire).

Church was turned into 'castle' in 1141 (or 1142). The existing Grade 1 church is of C13 and later date. Fry writes 'A motte castle was raised by Queen Matilda' but there does not appear to be any evidence that the fortification of the church by Matilda involved a motte. The church 'occupies one corner of large oval enclosure of Anglo Saxon date' (Oxfordshire HER). This was an urgent constructed castle based on a church rather than a fortified church.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP31260332

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 334540
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 4175 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.